Otto Henry Wins 420 Youth Worlds

The World Sailing Youth World Championships were held in Sanya, China 9-16 December. DBSC member Otto Henry was victorious in a very competitive fleet of 420 Boy sailors. Congratulations Otto!

Video of the Week

The America's Cup has got a few punters interested in foiling, however a Moth costs $25k. Any other options ?? The folks at Lake Garda have an idea ...

Spring Pointscore Heats 13 & 14

Mother Nature made up for last week’s wild weather and turned on a lovely sunny day, with a 10-knot breeze that started SE and moved progressively left as the afternoon heated up and the sea breeze started to poke through. This shift brought Shark Island into play and made for some tricky choices on the reaches and downwind. The forty sailors who competed had plenty of opportunity to learn from their mistakes at Brett’s debrief. The winners on handicap were: Standards: Jost Stollmann (heat 13) and Geoff Boscoe (heat 14); Radials: Justin Davey (heats 13 and 14): 4.7s Brooke Wilson (heats 13 and 14). Thanks to this week’s volunteers — Mike Dunne (PRO) and Clare Alexander on the Jazzman, Robert Young and Christine Patton in the RIBs, and Jen Wells in the canteen. Check out Brett Beyer’s video of the radial starts here, and the standard rig starts here.

Sailors listen to Brett's post-race debrief.

New Members Drinks and Christmas Dinner

The Festive Season is well and truly upon us and this Saturday evening we’re having two very special events to get you in the mood to party. At 6pm join us for a cocktail to toast our New Members and then stick around for our annual Christmas Party at 7:30pm. RSVPs have been extended to COB today, Wednesday, December 13th. Please respond via the Paperless Post Invite or, if you did not receive the invite, email us at social@dbsc.com.au with your RSVP and state which of the functions you will attended, how many people will come and any dietary requirements.

The Week Ahead

Wednesday 13 December, 5pm – Twilight Sailing. Please note Brett Beyer will not be coaching tonight, but we’ll still be sailing. Sign up here if you’re coming.

Saturday 16 December, 9am – Learn to Race. Come along if you want to learn more about Laser boat handling, balance, boat posture, trim, starts, tacks, gybes, boat set-up and any other race management fundamentals. Please email Martin White at mwhite@universalmagazines.com.au if you are planning on attending.

Saturday 16 December, 2pm Start – Spring Point Score Heats 15 & 16. These are the last races for the series, so make them count.  

Saturday 16 December, 6pm – New Member’s Drinks

Saturday 16 December, 7:30pm – Christmas Dinner

Mandatory Sign On / Sign Off

We will be announcing several ongoing safety improvements over time. One that we are implementing immediately is a mandatory sign on / sign off policy. No score will be recorded if this is not followed. The sign on / sign off sheets are located next to the beer fridge. For those who don’t sail from the DBSC clubhouse you need to sign on / sign off using Jim Dounis’ mobile number. Just text your sail number on and off to 0412 646 064.  

Nationals Sign Ups

A contingent of DBSC members will be headed to the National Masters Championship at Mooloolobah from 9-12 February. There is a white board set up in the club for those who plan on going. Please fill in your details and let us know if you require accommodation or transport, and if you have any spare spaces on your trailer.

Helping New Members

We are implementing a new buddy system to provide less experienced sailors with assistance from veteran DBSC members. This is a great way for us to make new members feel welcome, help them get the hang of how the club operates, and to provide sailing assistance / advice if needed. Please email Richard George at rageorge.email@gmail.com if you are interested in participating in either side of this program — include the capacity in which you want to participate — “mentor” or “mentee”.

Thanks from Yngling Crew

As mentioned in last week’s newsletter our race committee helped several Yngling crews during the squall that hit the harbour on December 2nd. Here is a letter of thanks from one of those crews:

Dear DBSC,

I would like to personally thank Clare and her other crew member who assisted us in the Yngling fleet (apologies I don't have his name) on the weekend to help get us out of the rocks during our capsize at the end of the last race of the Yngling nationals during the squall on Saturday. It was quite a situation for them to be placed in and their efforts were noted despite the natural confusion and a bit of loud communication occurring as we tried to stop our boat from hitting the point. They really tried their hardest to help us and I can't thank them enough.

No people were hurt and the boat has ultimately suffered little damage (broken rudder, few ropes and a little bit of sail damage). After recovering we've had an extremely good laugh and the whole episode has been put into perspective now. We got out the next day in a different boat and got on with it!

My experience with DBSC goes back further, it may be worth mentioning that I'm a laser sailor (at GSC) and had the privilege of getting a few lessons off Martin White in my earlier laser sailing days and learnt a little bit about RO work with Jonathan on the start boat. I can't thank Double Bay SC enough for all the help they have given me over the years and especially in my time of need on the weekend. What a wonderful club and you should be proud of the people who represent you.

I can officially say now that righting a capsized Laser is far easier than a Yngling!

Fair winds,

Elyse (Skipper of Shining Star/NED 355)

Sail Melbourne

DBSC had a good contingent head south for last week’s Sail Melbourne event. Here’s how our sailors placed: Standards: Finn Alexander, 7th; Radials: Marlena Berzins, 7th, Campbell Patton, 14th, Jack Littlechild, 15th, Zac West, 20th; 4.7s: Mark Louis, 2nd, Daniel Costandi, 5th. Well done all.